1. Field
The present application relates generally to the operation of wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to methods and apparatus for delayed block acknowledgment in a communication network
2. Background
One of the main features of wireless systems like an IEEE 802.11 WLAN is the acknowledgement of successfully received packets. Successfully received packets are those, for example, that did not collide with other transmissions or they have reception power above the receiver sensitivity threshold so that they are able to be properly decoded at the receiver. In an 802.11 system, the MAC layer protocol data unit (MPDU) that comprises upper layer (i.e., IP layer, etc.) data is encompassed in a PLCP (Physical layer convergence procedure) layer protocol data unit (PPDU). The MPDU has a 32-bit CRC error detection mechanism that spans the data as well as the MAC header. Upon error free reception (no error in the CRC frame check), an acknowledgement (ACK) is sent by the receiver to the transmitter. The ACK is sent by the receiver after a Short Interframe Space (SIFS) time so that there is enough time to decode the packet to check if the frame was intended for the decoding station, and to check for the presence of errors by computing the Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC).
IEEE 802.11e/n introduces the concept of Block ACK (BA) where a receiving station acknowledges reception of multiple frames by transmitting a single acknowledgement frame with a bitmap of the successfully received MPDUs. ACKs can increase the Quality of Service (QoS) for users in the WLAN. However, in return, ACKs may increase signaling overhead and lower the overall system efficiency. With the increasing popularity of wireless networks, there is an ever greater need to increase the throughput from the existing bandwidth allocations to increase system efficiency. Due to the bandwidth limitations, the efficiency of these networks needs to be enhanced to provide higher throughputs.
Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide solutions to the above identified problems. The various aspects disclosed herein are directed to methods and apparatus for increasing the efficiency of a WLAN that utilizes acknowledgements.